I did a Google search on the title of my new book and learned two surprising things: There’s another book on the market with a similar title, and Amazon may be the online sales giant, but it has more competition than I realized.

The folks at History Press came up with the title for my book: Condemned for Love in Old Virginia: The Lynching of Arthur Jordan. If they knew about the other book with a similar title, it didn’t bother them.

Condemned to Love is by Siobhan Davis, from 2021, and is billed as a “Dark Mafia Romance.” The cover teases: “Her teen crush is now a ruthless killer and a powerful Mafia heir.” I doubt that readers shopping online will confuse the two.

Amazon has already listed my book for sale, as have Barnes & Noble and Target. All three are charging $23.99, the cover price, and all three say that the book will be available on July 17.

Three other online sellers also have listed the book, though I confess I had never heard of them. Thrift Books plans to sell the book for $19.85, and Bulk Bookstore will sell it for $17.27 if you buy 25 copies or more. Booktopia doesn’t appear to be living up to its name. It will be charging $47.25 per copy.

Before naming the book, History Press asked for my suggestions, and I sent them eight possibilities. My editor offered two additional suggestions. The offerings included (shortened versions) Virginia Love Denied, Forbidden Love in Fauquier County and Virginia Vengeance. They chose none of them.

I like Condemned for Love better than any of the titles I offered, because it does the work of a good headline: It’s intriguing and quickly conveys the heart of the story.

The romance of Arthur Jordan and Elvira Corder was not unique. Almost half of all lynchings were retribution for some sort of alleged sexual contact between a Black man and a white woman. This one was different, however, because it was not an allegation of a brief encounter, as most were. This was a consensual, long-standing relationship that probably lasted for months.

I believe Arthur and Elvira were willing to sacrifice everything for what proved to be a forbidden romance. The title reflects that.